The Sole Administrator, Rivers State chapter of the Nigerian Legion, Justice Ogborun Chichi has thanked the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike for the release of the N100million earlier promised the legion, adding that the money would enable his administration to kick-start the implementation of the cardinal pillars of his mandate in the state.
Consequently, Chichi has constituted a five-man scholarship board to fashion strategies for the implementation of a workable and inclusive scholarship programme for children of members of the Nigerian Legion and the dependants of the fallen heroes in the state.
Speaking shortly after the inauguration of the board at the Rivers State Legion Office in the D/Line area of Port Harcourt, Chichi stated that the Rivers State governor has shown sufficient passion and love for legionnaires, adding that it was for that reason that he has launched a welfare programme for the legionnaires and their dependants.
Chichi stated that in line with Wike’s dream and vision for the state governor, the legion had on January 24, 2018, kicked-started the Part I of the programme by constituting a five-man board chaired by Sir Firima Joseph Harvest.
He noted that the board would consider two persons from each of the 23 local government areas of the state, with six slots reserved for the geopolitical zones in the country, while the other three chances would be given out to others on compassionate ground.
Chichi explained that the first phase of the scholarship programme was targeting the most brilliant children of the widows, who have just gained admission into the various universities.
The sole administrator hinted that the reason for including the six geo-political zones was because the Nigerian Legion covers the entire country, adding that the call for legionnaires’ welfare falls on all well-meaning Nigerians.
He added that the leadership of the legion would work in synergy with the Rivers State University (RSU) in order to ensure that the selection process was strictly on merit, remarking that the burden of the widows would reduce when the responsibility of training their children is shared by other organisations and individuals.
“We are going to liaise with the Rivers State University; we will use their facility to screen and test the capacity of the students, and the best two from each local government area captured are those we would train,”Chiechi said.
He urged all those who the scholarship scheme did not favour, and want the N100million shared evenly among members, to wait as plans were underway to ensure that every member benefits from the largesse.
Responding, the Chairman of the newly constituted Scholarship Board, Sir Firima Joseph Harvest, solicited the support of all members to enable the board deliver on its mandate.

Susan Serekara-Nwikhana & Reliance Ezimora